Kobuk Valley National Park
Kobuk Valley National Park
The park is located in a broad valley along the central Kobuk River in Northwest Alaska
Kobuk Valley National Park is a unique Alaskan park with much to offer in outdoor adventure. Whether it is hiking the unusual sand dunes, fishing the great rivers or the many ways of boating down the Kobuk River, you are sure to have a great family vacation. Check below for further Kobuk Valley National Park information to help plan your next travel adventure!
Uniqueness
Kobuk Valley National Park is encircled by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges and is part of the Western Arctic National Parklands. The park provides protection for several important geographic features, including the central portion of the Kobuk River, the 25-sqaure-mile Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, and the Little Kobuk and Hunt River dunes.
The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, reaching up to 150-250 feet, are an easy hike from the Kobuk River.
Throughout the year educational and interpretive programs are offered at the Kotzebue Public Lands Information Center. Activities include camping, hiking, backpacking, wildlife observations, cross country skiing, dogmushing, fishing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, and photography. Visit the Onion Portage archeological site to learn the history of native people who have lived along the Kobuk for at least 12,000 years. There are artifacts from every known Eskimo occupation of North America. Botanical research studies along the Squirrel River, a major tributary of the Kobuk River, have revealed several rare plants such as an aster, a sour dock, and an artic locoweed.
The fishing can be good when the rivers are high and the fish are running. There are grayling, artic char, sheefish, salmon, pike, and whitefish. An Alaska fishing license is required for all persons, 16 years of age and older. The Salmon River is classified as a national wild and scenic river where motorboats, kayaks, canoes and rafts are all used for a variety of floating experiences. The Kobuk River offers some of North America’s finest waters for wilderness expeditions.
Kobuk Valley National Park is open year around. The headquarters office hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday and it is located in Kotzebue. The Visitor Center, also located in Kotzebue, is open for the summer and hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Saturday 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and closed Sunday & Monday.
Sand created by the grinding action of ancient glaciers has been carried to the Kobuk Valley by both wind and water. One of the most popular destinations, the Great Sand Dunes is an active, eolian, sand dune system covering 23.5 square miles. They consist of transverse and barchan dunes that can swell to heights of 250 feet or more. Bordered on the south by the Waring Mountains and Kavet Creek on the west, dunes now cover much of the southern portion of the Kobuk Valley, where they are naturally stabilized by vegetation. They continue to move west, pushed by easterly winds. The Little Kobuk Sand Dunes are located further southeast and only cover approximately 2.3 square miles. The existing dune fields could be a relic of a much larger, post glacial dune field. It is uncertain how large that may be, but geological research indicates that the current vegetation covers more than 300 square miles of ancient dunes. River bluffs, composed of sand and standing as high as 150 feet, hold permafrost ice wedges and the fossils of Ice Age mammals.
Geologists, archeologists and palynologists have all studied the sand dunes to learn about life before and after glaciation periods. The sand dune systems that exist today in Alaska’s arctic and subarctic could provide us with a link between pre-glacial ecosystems and our current ecosystem. It could be that what we see today closely mimics the scenery of times past as people migrated across the continent after the glaciers melted.
The park is 1.7 million acres of land sitting in a semi-enclosed bowl about 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The southern portion is the Kobuk Valley Wilderness Area which covers 190,000 acres. The boreal forest reaches its northern limit here, resulting in open woodland of small trees in a mat of thick tundra. Flora found on the dunes include many colorful species such as Siberian Asters, yellow chrysanthemums, wormwood, Eskimo Potato, bearberry and more. Surrounding the dunes, you will see white spruce, paper birch, alder shrubs, blueberry bushes, willow shrubs, Quaking Aspen and many species of lichen and moss. Kobuk Valley National Park was set up to protect and maintain the environment and interpret archeological sites associated with native cultures. As such, natural and archeological objects are protected and can not be removed.
Native people have lived along the Kobuk for at least 9,000 years. Their history is best recorded at the onion portage archeological site, situated along the Kobuk River in the southeastern corner of the park. Within the many stratified layers of silt deposited by the Kobuk River at Onion Portage are featured, in chronological order, artifacts from every known Eskimo occupation of North America. Today, five of the ten villages in Northwest Alaska are found along the banks of the Kobuk River-from Noorvik, only 30 miles from where the river pours out into Hotham Inlet (known locally as Lake Kobuk) to Kobuk, more than 200 miles inland. In between, the villages of Kiana, Ambler and Shungnak can be found. The upper villages are often used as starting points for float trips.
Together with Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Noatak National Preserve, Kobuk National Park is linked to the wide-ranging, nomadic western arctic herd of barren ground caribou. Their aggregate numbers exceed 500,000 animals today. The tundra offers a thin veneer of life across which caribou must move to forage for adequate food. In summer the land is covered with a profusion of low-growing plants, including dwarfed ground willows, saxifrage, lupines, reindeer moss, and lichens. Native peoples were often nomadic, following the caribou migrations. Throughout these parklands, local residents still pursue caribou hunting, fishing, trapping, and other subsistence activities. Special provisions of the legislation establishing these Alaska parklands allow local people to continue these activities. Many residents rely significantly on locally harvested animals, fish, and plants for satisfying basic food needs. The Inupiat people traditionally valued the land so that, through wise use over thousands of years, its resources and productivity were carefully preserved for the benefit of future generations. The national park has a compatible mission-to be good stewards of the vast reaching northwest Alaska for the enjoyment and use of this and coming generations.
Other animals to be found in the park are muskoxen, a prehistoric looking animal that is a relic of the Ice Age; wolverines, reindeer, wolves, porcupines, moose, and black and grizzly bears.
The Kotzebue basin boasts a wide and diverse collection of over 150 species of birds for the bird watching fans. Of particular interest is the diversity of the migratory songbirds. Ravens, Sandhill cranes, arctic terns, and gray jays are just a few of the many birds to be seen. Many of the breeding songbirds in Northwest Alaska migrate from wintering habitats in South America and Eastern Asia. Some come as far as Africa. Geographically, the southern species are referred to as Neotropical (New World) migrants and the Asian species as Paleartic (Old World) migrants. A banding program has been in effect since 1994 in an effort to track valuable biological data.
Taking a trip down the Kobuk River with a folding kayak or canoe, canoe, or an inflatable kayak promises to be an unforgettable wilderness experience. The river gets up to 1,500 feet wide in places and has areas where it falls only 2 to 3 inches per mile. The trip is anywhere from 125-260 miles and can take from 6-20 days to complete. There are areas that have to be portaged. The rapids in the river run from Class II to Class V.
In the upper Kobuk and its tributaries, hiking opportunities are excellent as the trees are widely spaced and the forest floor forms a soft mat of lichens. The upper and middle regions offer spectacular scenery. To the south lie the wind sculpted Kobuk Sand Dunes. There are no trails or roads within the park.
Expect high winds throughout the year and short, mild, cool sunny summers. The coast line areas are primarily a maritime climate, while the interior areas are more of a continental climate. The interior has greater variation in temperature and precipitation. There are 24 hours of daylight for one month in the summer with average temperatures in the 50’s along the coast line and 90’s by the sand dunes. A long, severe, harsh, extremely cold winter with about one hour of daylight and temperatures from -10 to -65 degrees can be experienced by December 1. The area receives 10-12″ precipitation annually on the coast by Kotzebue and 16-20 inches inland by the village of Kobuk. Arctic winter conditions – snow, ice, wind, and below-freezing temperatures exist in the park from October through April. Snow or freezing temperatures may occur any time, even in summer. The “freeze up,” where the water freezes solid in winter, occurs in mid-October and the “breakup”, where the ice breaks up into pieces and moves down river or out to sea, occurs in late May inland and as late as the third week in June along the coast.
This is a vast area subject to harsh weather, high winds, rain and snow. Guard against hypothermia, an all-season killer. Take plenty of warm clothing and enough food, water, clothing and equipment for at least one extra day. Have at least one extra set of warm, dry clothes in case one set gets wet. Pack clothes, sleeping bags and sleeping pads in waterproof bags. Eat high calorie foods. Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
For back country hiking/camping, wear plenty of warm clothing, dress in layers (not cotton), and use rain gear. Wear sturdy hiking boots and waders for wet terrain. Clothing and camp gear should be of good quality. Tents should be able to withstand strong winds and have rain flies. Always carry extra food and water in case your transportation cannot pick you up as scheduled. A campstove is recommended. Campfires are permitted, but downed wood can be difficult to find. Live tree cutting is not permitted. Also bring sleeping bag and mat, water filtering system, collapsible water container, 2 quart water bottle, first aid kit, repair kit for your gear, flashlight with extra batteries and bulb, fuel, toilet kit, topographical map, compass, GPS unit, signal mirror or whistle, multipurpose tool or knife, and cooking utensils.
Mosquitoes and biting flies are prevalent, especially in the summer months, so head nets and repellent are recommended. Drinking water needs to be boiled for one minute before use as Giardia lamblia can be a problem. Some areas in the backcountry have sparse water supplies so you will need to bring your own.
You must possess good wilderness skills for survival. Know and test your gear before you arrive. For your safety, leave your itinerary with someone and notify that person when you complete your trip. Winter travel can be recommended only to those experienced in artic camping and survival techniques. While hiking, take careful note of the direction you’re traveling, of prominent landmarks and approximate distances you have walked. Frequently ask yourself if you could find your way back under conditions of low clouds, rain or snow. Take careful compass bearings on the next day’s proposed route before retiring. Inform all your party of the planned route, campsite, and general direction of travel in the event you become separated. If you become lost, don’t panic; stop and plan carefully. If you become separated from your group, stay where you are or move a short distance to the point where you were last in contact with the group. If alone, climb high to look for familiar landmarks. If you find no familiar landmarks or rivers, stay in one place and remain in the open. Bright signals or objects placed in sequence of three are widely recognized as distress signs.
If you encounter an injured or ill person, remain calm. Quickly give whatever first-aid is required to stabilize the person and protect them from the elements. It may be some time before assistance arrives. Mark where they are located with a brightly colored material, in the open, so the person can be located from the air. Write down the nature of the injury/illness; condition and name, home address, phone number, sex and age of the person; what rescue equipment will be needed; exact location and type of terrain; and any information about a Medic-Alert tag, bracelet, or wallet card with ID number that the person may have. Then, quickly go or send for help. If you are injured or ill, conserve your energy and body heat. Stay by a water supply and remain calm, think, plan, and organize.
Grizzly and black bears are common to the park. They are unpredictable and dangerous. Never surprise them or approach closely. Stay cautious and alert at all times. Make a lot of noise-loud talking, ringing a bell, or shaking stones in a can. If you meet a bear, yield the right-of-way by moving slowly away, not running. Clean camps are essential to reduce bear problems. Foods, lotions, toothpaste, and shaving cream and their odors attract bears. Keep your sleep area and cooking areas separate. Store food and scented articles in airtight containers. Leave foods such as bacon and smoked fish at home. Burn and carry out all garbage. It is legal to carry a firearm for bear protection. A .300-Magnum rifle or a 12-gauge shotgun with rifled slugs is appropriate weapons if you have to shoot a bear. Heavy handguns such as a .44 Magnum may be inadequate in emergency situations, especially in untrained hands. However, firearms should never be used as an alternative to common-sense approaches to bear encounters. Also, a misplaced bullet may enrage the bear and cause a more severe attack. See the Wildlife Precautions page for further information.
No fees are charged.
There are no formal campgrounds. The available camping is wilderness camping. Kotzebue has a number of small stores where some basic goods can be purchased. Tundra and river bars are often used to camp. Use the river bars with caution as rapid changes in water can occur without warning. Camp only where escape routes are available to safe, higher ground. Keep gear above the river level and secure boats and other floatable items. Practice the Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. Camping is not permitted where it would interrupt subsistence activities or on private property without the owner’s consent. Private property usually is located along the rivers and beaches.
Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Noatak National Preserve, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge and Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow AK are all great places to check out.
Commercial airlines provide service from Anchorage or Fairbanks to Nome and Kotzebue. From either location, visitors may fly with various air taxi operators. There are scheduled flights to villages and chartered flights to specific park areas. Summer access may include motorized/non-motorized watercraft, aircraft, or by foot. Winter access may include snowmobiles, aircraft or by foot.
Kobuk Valley National Park, PO Box 1029, Kotzebue, AK 99752
Headquarters-907-442-3890
Summer Visitor Information-907-442-3760
By Fax 907-442-8316
You have to see this place for yourself: travel to Kobuk Valley National Park with Arctic Wild! We lead basecamp and raft trips to Kobuk Valley every summer.